Process and apparatus for packaging flowable materials



Feb. 11o, 1959 W. E. MEISSNER PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING FLOWABLE MATERIALS Filed Dec. 24, 1953 Feb. 10, 1959 w. E. MEISSNER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .ZN VENTOR.'

United States Patent() PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING FLOWABLE MATERIALS William E. Meissner, New York, N. Y., assignor to American Viscose Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a

This invention relates to the packaging of ilowable materials and in particular to a p-rocess and apparatus for packaging such materials and to the package so produced.

In general, flowable materials such as liquids and pastes are packaged by simultaneously forming a molten plastic mass of a thermoplastic film-forming material into a container and filling the container with the flowable material. In this embodiment, it should be noted that the flowable material itself is utilized as a force for expanding the film-forming plastic mass into the container. In a second embodiment, the plastic mass of film-forming material is first formed into a container by expanding it by use of the pressure of a gas and thereafter the gas is displaced and the container filled with the flowa'ble material. In each of the above embodiments, the primary plastic container thus produced may be used as the sole container for the flowable material and further the plastic container so iilled may be subjected to cooling, chilling or i freezing for storage, preservation and shipment. In a further embodiment, the plastic container is formed within the walls of a self-supporting surrounding receptacle which may be a carton, box, shell, cup or other secondary container formed of metal, paper, plastics or other packaging material and simultaneously filled with the iiowable material. In another embodiment, the plastic gob is rst expanded by means of gas pressure only to make a hollow flexible container and then the iiowable material is poured into such preformed container preferably while the plastic bag is supported inside an outer receptacle. A gob may be first formed of the entire amount of filmforming material needed to expand into the liquid enclosing envelope and the introduction of the liquid may occur entirely after the initial formation of the gob. Alternatively, only a part of the needed amount of the filmforming material may be present in the gob at first and during the introduction of the liquid as the gob expands to form the surrounding envelope, the additional filmforming material needed to form the complete full-sized envelope may be continuously supplied to the gob, such as by supplying such film-forming material continuously to an annular area or zone surrounding the area or zone of introduction of the liquid to be packaged.

In either event, when the desired amount of liquid for a given package has been introduced into the plastic bag, the top of the plastic bag is closed about the liquid within by -pinching the plastic walls together or in any other fashion, such as by twisting the material at this point.

The present invention provides a simple, eiiicient and low-cost system for producing packages. The outer receptacle of the package may be formed of any material such as low-cost untreated paper cartons'or cups, the main function of the outer receptacle being to confine the inner plastic bag and requiring for this purpose a certain structural strength. The outer receptacle need not be leakproof, since this requirement is completely taken care of by the plastic bag which serves to line the interior of' the carton and by its flexibility conforms to the contour n 2,872,763 Patented Feb. 1o, 195e 'ice of the interior of the receptacle. The receptacle need not be so rigid as to resist all flexing and deformation that may normally occur during handling and shipment since the inner lining is quite flexible and resists rupture when llexing and deformation, caused by normal shocks andimpacts and bending forces, are imparted to the package. Because 4of the cohesive plastic character of the film-forming material, there is no liability that parts of the plastic bag will break off during impactand become deposited within the contents thereof.

The plastic container may be made from a wide variety of thermoplastic materials. Preferred types include the synthetic polymers of thermoplastic character and the elastomeric types. Examples include vinyl resins, such as polyvinyl acetate, copolymers of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate, copolymers of acrylonitrile and vinyl acetate, polyacrylonitrile and copolymers of acrylonitrile with vinyl chloride, vinyl acetate, methacrylonitrile, and so forth, polyethylene, linear superpolymers of the polyester or nylon (polyamide) type, polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl alcohols, polyvinyl ethers; elastomeric types may include neoprene, polymers of chloroprene, copolymers of butadiene with styrene or acrylonitrile, polyisobutylene, and so forth. The use of molten thermoplastic material has certain advantages over the use of a plastic containing a volatile solvent because many flowable materials have atendency to absorb residues of the solvent and thus cause contamination of the material. The present invention relates to the formation and filling of plastic containers without the use of any solvents. It is to be understood that the mentioning of these particular materials is not intended to limit the invention thereto but merely to illustrate the wide variety of film-forming materials that can be used in carrying out the invention. Of course, the selection of any particular material depends upon the character `of the liquid to be packaged. Thus, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl acetals and polyvinyl alcohols and neoprene, especially the latter two types, are highly advantageous when packaging oils especially of the hydrocarbon type. Polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl chloride, related copolymers of these two monomers, and polyethylene are particularly adaptable to the packaging of aqueous liquids.

The film-forming material may be converted to a fluid mass by fusion. Thus, any of the thermoplastic materials may be heated to fusion and the liquid to be packaged may be introduced into a gob of the fused material preferably at the same temperature as the fused material. If necessary, the temperature of fusion-may be lowered by the incorporation of a plasticizer either of solid or liquid character. When plasticizers are incorporated into the plastic material to form the gob, the plasticizer is preferably insoluble in the liquid to be packaged unless the particular use to which the liquid packaged is to be put allows of the presence of the plasticizer that is used. The cooling of the freshly-formed plastic container may be accomplished by allowing it to cool down normally in the air or by forced chilling by means of a cold gas or liquid or by iilling it with the liowable material which is itself at a lower temperature, or Aby expanding it into a cold outer receptacle. When the expanded envelope strikes the wall of the receptacle, the mass is set into the shape desired conforming with the wall of the receptacle.

lt is understood that the plastic container enclosing the frowable material may be used as the sole container therefor and the package so formed will be flexible. Such a plastic package may then be chilled, cooled or frozen for storage, preservation and shipment. Therefore, it must be clearly understood that the invention contemplates broadly the packaging of the tiowable material in 3 a flexible plastic seamless e'ontainer without the use of any secondary' supporting' receptacle.

For a more complete understanding of the nature and objects of the invention reference should be had to the accompanying drawings; in which, i i

Fig'. l i'sia side elevation, partly in section, of a part of a suitable" apparatus for carrying out' one embodiment of theprocess ofthe invention,

Fig- 2 is a'perspective view of the container forming and lling devices to be usedwi'thl the apparatus of'Fig. 11 for `carrying out the process,

Fig. is 'a side elevation, partly in section, of aV second embodiment of the process,` i

Fig. 4 is a side elevatiompartly in section, of another embodiment of the package of the invention,

Fig.' 5 is av side elevation, partly in section, of an apparatus for carrying out a third embodiment of the process.

Generally speaking, the thermoplastic 'hlm-forming material is heated to melt the plastic which is then extruded to form a gob, the gob being expanded into a container. For example, a suitable device is shown in Fig. l inwhich the solid thermoplastic material is fed, in the form of flakes, granules, pellets or other coniminutedV forni, into a chamber through the port 11 having a` lid l2 and a dischargeport 13` communicating with a screw press 14 comprising a cylinder i5 and a single uted screw 16. The screw press and the chamber l@ are each ysu`r` rounded by a jacket 17 providing spaces 1S through which' heated air or iiuid maybe circulated to maintain' the' temperature of the plastic material. In addition', 'the' charnber It) may be' provided''withV internal heating means'such as the pipes 19 connected to the' jacket sothat the granular material is heated toits meltingY point and then hows by gravity through the exit port 13 to theV screw4 press' 14. The screw i6 is drivenl byamotor' 2hV through" a suitable gear train 21'. The press terminates at the other` enclin an extrusion head 22 comprising a T-shaped channel hav# ing one arm 23 connected through a pipe 24- to a pump 25 such as a metering gear pump common to the rayon' industry anda second arm 26 connected through a pipe 27 to an air cylinder` 28 having attached thereto a pressure gauge Z9 which is adaptedi to actuate an electric relayftly The switch 3'0`isconnected'by-wires 31` to the electric motor 2t) so that when tlie'pressure of the molten plastic in the headbecomes too great, Vthe'swit'chwill'c'ut oft the motor and thus momentarily stop the delivery of molten plastic to the gear pump, and when th'epr'e'ssure dropsto a desired valuethe motor will again operate and'deliver the molten plastic to the gearV pump k2S andi increase theipressfure on' the molten plastic being delivered to the gearpurnp. 'Thege'ar pump 25 is driven by a second motor 33` through'a gear train 341-53411'- in which the gea`r`3`4a has only a'few teeth on its periphery so thatv the pump is drivenl intermittently althoughv the motor 33` is operated'continuously. If necessary,`an inert gas ymay .be introduced into the chamber 10' by means of thepipe 55, the gas sweeping out the air through the port'll.

A` suitable device for forming the filling containers with tiowablefniaterial'is' shown in Fig. 2'V in which the molten plastic delivered by the gear pumpv ,2S through a nozzle 36; The container former comprises a central shaft 48 having a multiplicity of arms 4I rotatably mounted thereon,- ea'c'h arm' ter'minatingin a ring42-'w'hic-h 'is' internally heated by means of an electric coil or wire 43= connected through the arms to: a` commutatorring 44 tov a source of electric energy through the wires 45. Thef arms are rotated intermittently so that the arm 41a is first positionedfunder and closely adjacent the oriiice of the nozzle 36 so'that it receives a gob yof plastic d6. The armv 41a carrying the gob 46ithen moves tothe container forming posi-tion so that it isunder and` adjacentl the nozzlev 47 which is connected `to a source of gas under pressure such the gas chamber l48 connected tothe nozzle 47 through the pipe`48ki havingthelvalve 49 therein. i The valve 49 is now turned to open position so that the gas is delivered tothe central portion ofthe plastic suspended on the ring 42 whereupon the gob 46 is rapidly expanded to form a container 50. The arm 41a carrying the container 50 then moves to a filling position so that the ring 42 and the mouth of the container are positioned beneath a nozzle 51 through which llowa'ble material to be packaged is, delivered from a supply chamber 52f thrfumghr a pipe 53 havingi al valve' 54. The arm' i1- 1 now moves to a closing position where a heated blade 55 which is heated by suitablemea'ns such as the electricy wire 56 is located The bladei's'i'stationary so thatas the arm 4M svviriJ'g'sl to the closing position, the blade cutsthe" cohtaineroif vjust below thefring`42, preferably' scraping the bottom of the ring. Since the ring is heated, the plastic material adjacent the ring is softV andi' tacky so thatthe walls of the container are pressed together and sealed by the heat of the blade 55. The arm 41a now moves to the plastic loading position to receive a second' gob'of vpl'a's'tic'f'from the/nozzle 36; 'l etFig. 2 shows a former having four arms, the de v'i'vce mayl comprise a single armorV a` plurality of'arms which m'ove successively to the various loadihgekpan'd ing, tilling and sealing positions or zones as above'y described. If desired the expanding and' filling` may be carried: out at a single position by use of the composite nozzle 611 shown in'Fig; 3, in which the gas is delivered through the' annular channel: 62 andthe lo'wable' material is" delivered through the centralc'hannel 63. In' some cases, where the owable material isxinert at the tem'- perature of the molten plastic, the use of air or gas to expand" the plastic may be dispensedv withV and the'- flowable" material may he used as'the means for expandingv the plastic 'fob into a container.

Fig;v 3 also'l illustrates another embodiment of the' proccss, in which the plastic container is formed or filled while it is positioned` inside a secondary outer receptacle 64"such as a cup, container, carton or paper, plastic metal, and the" like. After the plastic container 50 has been filled, it is closed by pinching together the portions at thetop'while'they are plastic and tacky or the top is heat'- sealetl'or otherwise closed, the receptacle 64 is closed' by folding over the aps 65 andy sealing them toform the' finished package shown in Fig. 4.-

In Fig. 5 there is shown apparatus suitable for forming acontinuous tubing or casing ofthe organic plastic and? simultaneously' lilling'it with a owable' materialil The molten plastic ows from'the press heady 22 and is continuously eXtruded through an annular orifice forntedA byl the tube 66 and an linner pipe 67 which is a stuthng' Yi'orn connected to a containerv 63 whichm'ay be' filled' with a llowable material' such as frankfurter sausage meat'. The plastic tubing 60 is chilled while it passes through the cooling Vchamber 70 and is stulfed with'the meat t'o'fo'rin'a sausage' 71` which maybe twistedat s'pa'ced points, such as A,v to form links. The valve 72 in the horn regulates the" flow of meat'. It is to be understood that the meatv or' other owable' material may beffed intermittemly'to the tubing so that' it will be spaced inside the tubing at 'intervals and the tubingmay be sealed in the areas separating the spaced units of meat or other material.

any var'l tions may be made in the package, for *example, the 4outer rcceptaclemay ,containA a plurality 'of separate' plastic containers enclosing packaged flowable material` 'I When packaging milk and other ilowa'ble materials in cartons which are already' provided with an openin'gfcap, the procedure is to'plaee thcmilk carton under the nozzle, lopen the' cap, insert the nozzle in' the opening, term and hll thev plastic container in the' carton and tllen'withdraw the noz'zlv v'so that the' top' parts of the plastic container contacfahd' adhere to' the kedges of the carton opening. Thus', ywhen' the cap is forced4 back over the opening, the carton' will' be completely sealed'. ln general, however,

it is preferable to close the plastic container by a coalescing of the walls of the plastic container as by pinching them together or twisting them until they are in contact.

If the plastic material is delivered continuously instead of intermittently to the nozzle, the container may be formed as a long seamless tubing which is simultaneously lled as it is formed with the owable material.

I claim:

1. In packaging apparatus, a vertically journaled hub, a plurality of arms extending from said hub in a horizontal plane, an open annular ring at the tip of each of said arms, a heating element for each of said rings, a nozzle positioned above the orbit of said rings at a first station to deposit a mass of molten thermoplastic material in each of said rings at said station, a second nozzle positioned above the orbit of said rings at a second station for exanding the mass into a hollow container at said second station, a third nozzle positioned above the orbit of said rings at a third station for lling said hollow container at said third station, and a wiper blade positioned adjacent the third station for removing the filled container from the ring.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the wiper blade is provided with heating means.

3. In packaging apparatus, a movable structure supporting at least one annular member, rst means for delivering a gob of plastic material to said annular member when said movable structure is advanced into a first position, means carried by said annular member for maintaining the gob of plastic material in a softened condition, second means for expanding the gob of plastic material into the shape of a hollow container when said movable structure is advanced into a second position, third means for lilling the hollow container when said movable structure is advanced into a third position, and fourth means positioned adjacent to said third means for simultaneously sealing and removing the lled containers from said annular member as said movable structure is advanced from its third position.

4. A method for packaging flowable materials including the steps of disposing a gob of plastic material onto an annular member, maintaining said material in a softened condition while simultaneously inating the same to form a hollow container having an opening at its point of connection with said annular member, filling said hollow container with a owable material, and sealing said container opening while simultaneously removing said filled container from said annular member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNlTED STATES PATENTS 2,275,154 Merrill et al. Mar. 3, 1942 2,331,687 Hobson Oct. l2, 1943 2,403,482 Cloud July 9, 1946 2,411,971 MacMillin et al. Dec. 3, 1946 2,427,960 Griffiths Sept. 23, 1947 2,449,139 Posner Sept. 14, 1948 2,566,645 Weber et al. Sept. 4, 1951 2,618,814 Paton et al. Nov. 25, 1952 2,783,599 Wcikert Mar. 5, 1957 OTHER REFERENCES Blow-moulding, October 1953, British Plastics, page 360. 

